CABG Using C-Port May be Cheaper than On-Pump

April 22, 2008 - Beating heart coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) saved $1,684 per procedure, which were performed using the C-Port Distal Anastomosis Systems, compared with the cost of traditional on-pump CABG surgery.

Cardica Inc. and Genesis Medical Center reported results from a six-month economic analysis comparing the cost of off-pump, beating heart CABG procedures. The $1,684 per procedure savings included the cost of the C-Port systems in the beating heart cases, compared to traditional bypass surgery.

Genesis Medical Center in Davenport, Iowa conducted an economic analysis from July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 to evaluate the cost of traditional on-pump to off-pump CABG procedures using the C-Port systems and other ancillary products to enable off-pump CABG. Nicholas Augelli, M.D., and Robert Fietsam, M.D., performed 78 off-pump procedures during the study, for a total savings of $131,352. In addition to an approximate operating room (OR) time savings of two hours with beating heart surgery, the study showed that the cost of beating heart procedures, which included the cost of the C-Port systems, were $14,905 versus $16,589 for on-pump, arrested heart surgery without the use of the C-Port systems. The average cost savings for beating heart procedures with the use of the C-Port systems was $1,684 over traditional bypass surgery without the C-Port system.

The C-Port systems are designed to enable automated and reproducible connections of blood vessels during CABG surgery. Cardica's C-Port systems are engineered to create compliant anastomoses that can expand and contract with blood flow. In addition, the C-Port systems, whether used during on- or off- pump surgery, offer surgeons unique access to a wide range of coronary arteries, particularly small coronary arteries on which, in the past, CABG procedures have been very difficult or impossible to perform.